


From One to Ten, You're My Eleven

by Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97



Category: Titans (TV 2018)
Genre: Cuddle Session, Dad!Dick Grayson, Dealing with period homemade way, Dick Grayson is a Good Parent, Domestic Fluff, Father Figures, Father-Daughter Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, Platonic Cuddling, Platonic Relationships, Rachel is going through stuff, Team as Family, Tooth-Rotting Fluff, With a lot of love and lots of cuddles, at its finest, found family fluff, yep you read that right
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-07-27
Updated: 2020-07-27
Packaged: 2021-03-05 19:40:32
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,422
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/25550698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97/pseuds/Not_So_Mundane_After_All_97
Summary: Around 2 weeks after moving in the Tower, Rachel gets her period. Things are meant to be awkward when you're living with three guys... But thankfully one of them grew up with Donna Troy, so he knows what to do.
Relationships: Dick Grayson & Rachel Roth, Dick Grayson & Raven
Comments: 4
Kudos: 121





	From One to Ten, You're My Eleven

**Author's Note:**

> A fluffy, funny and a little bit awkward... (wait for it)... Period fic. Absolutely batshit crazy idea that constantly makes me laugh. Turned into the fluffiest fluff to ever fluff (too much? Probably. Sorry for your future problems with sugar level).  
> I'm just trying to make up for the pain I've caused you all with Purification.  
> I got carried away again, I just couldn't. stop. writing. Took me a week to finish it.  
> So don't get scared when you see how long this thing is.  
> Hope you enjoy!

A huge thunderstorm that came over San Francisco during the night carried on far into the morning. Gallons of water poured down the glass windows, tapping away a constant, dull rhythm. Dark grey sky, covered in giant, heavy clouds, sparkled up occasionally with lightnings, illuminating the room even through the closed curtains. Each flash of light was followed by a drum of thunder, sometimes distant, other times like it's happening right over the Tower. 

Rachel curled up in her bed, wrapping the sheets tighter around her body. She pressed her face into her pillow, trying to muffle a groan of pain. For almost three hours now she felt like the same storm was crashing right through her, slowly ripping her apart from the inside. She wrapped her arms around herself, shrinking into a ball, as another hiss of pain fell out of her lips.

Stupid period cramps.

Her lower abdomen and back were on fire. Head felt like it was about to explode. One quick trip to the bathroom an hour ago almost send her to her knees, giving her a killer headache that she still couldn't get rid of. Knowing how bad it is this time, a perspective of it not going away filled her with dread because she knew she's gonna have to repeat that trip soon enough.

Sneaking her hand from under the covers, she tapped around the bed to find her phone. The light from the screen blinded her briefly, but she managed to check the time. 8:30 a.m., soon the guys will be calling her for breakfast. Training session was supposed to start in an hour - how was she going to pull it off if she could barely stand?

This whole thing was very strange to her and definitely put her in a bit of a difficult position. They've moved in here around two weeks ago and Rachel already got to experience first hand that living with three guys was… not the ideal scenario, to say the least. Being the only girl here had its perks, but also was getting on her nerves quite often. After living her whole life with just her mother, it was kinda hard getting used to… whatever this was. She missed Kory dearly, but knew better than to call her over some frivolous things like Gar and Jason fighting over video games, or smelly socks in the bathroom.

But how was she supposed to handle _this_?

Last time she was on her period, Melisa was still alive. It seemed like in a totally different life, but in fact it was just around a month ago, right before all of this started. Her mother was a nurse, she knew exactly how to deal with this sort of thing… Now? Rachel had no idea what to do.

She knew she will have to get out of bed eventually. She was running short on pads, found only three in an emergency stash in her old backpack. How was she going to sneak out to the store in this weather? No to mention if whether or not she'll be able to stay up on her feet…

Just as another painful cramp twisted her stomach, she heard a faint knocking on the door.

"Rachel, you awake?" Gar's cheerful voice came from the hall. "Breakfast's ready!"

She squeezed her eyes shut, groaning into her pillow.

_Shit. That's awesome._

"Um… not really hungry!" she shouted back, trying to sound convincing. She heard a quiet laugh in return.

"Don't worry, it's not Dick who's cooking today! Jason burned all the toasts, but we saved you some scrambled eggs."

"You know what?" she started, meaning to tell him she'll be there in a minute when her stomach decided to give her another painful kick, pushing all air out of her lungs. This time the sensation was so intense she felt tears pooling in the corners of her eyes. "Ugh… I think I'll pass."

"You sure?"

This time Gar's voice sounded concerned.

"Yeah, I'm sure!"

For a moment there was no response, but then Gar spoke again.

"Okay, your choice. Join us when you're ready!"

When his footsteps slowly faded away, Rachel was finally able to relax. That was until another wave of nausea hit her right with a series of cramps. She curled into herself and pressed her hands to her stomach, letting her tears fall on her pillow.

She just needed to survive the day. Tomorrow will be better. 

It hasn't even been five minutes when Rachel heard another knock.

"Everything okay, Rach?" Dick's voice came from behind the door, sounding worried as usual and she had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. She appreciated how much he cared about her, how hard he was trying, but ever since her fight with Trigon it was almost like he was walking on eggshells around her, not sure what he should or shouldn't do. 

For a moment she was going to lie. Tell him she's fine, just not hungry. But when she opened her mouth, something different came out.

"I… don't feel really good today, to be honest."

Guess this is just how it worked between them. She simply couldn't lie to him even when she tried.

"Can I come in?"

A surge of panic suddenly rushed through her. What was she supposed to tell him? _How_ was she supposed to tell him? With her mind running miles a minute she completely forgot to answer him until she heard his voice again.

"Rachel? I'm coming in."

Her bedroom door opened slowly with a slight crack, followed by quiet footsteps. Her back was turned to him and she was almost entirely covered, so she didn't see him until he was right in front of her, sitting down at the edge of her bed. She took a breath and peeked out from under the blanket only to find him leaning over her with a faint smile and eyes filled with worry. His hand rested gently on her shoulder and started rubbing it comfortingly once he spoke.

"What's going on?"

Rachel closed her eyes and shrugged, trying to make it seem like it's not a big deal and ignore another spike of pain that shot through her body.

"I just don't feel so good today, can I skip the training session?"

The moment she finished speaking, a particularly nasty cramp twisted her insides, setting her stomach on fire. She tried to resist a hiss of pain but wasn't able to, so she hid her face in her pillow as a violent spasm shook right through her. 

Dick's hand froze for a second before coming back to brushing her shoulder again, much more affectionately this time and when she looked up at him with wet eyes, she found him frowning at her, leaning down even closer. But there was something different about his eyes, some kind of new knowledge behind them, understanding even.

"Okay, from one to ten, how bad is it?"

His question confused her, so much that she raised her head a little, lifting an eyebrow at him.

"What?"

He chuckled quietly and moved his hand to her face, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear.

"Your cramps." he explained, earning an even more surprised look from her. "How bad are they?"

Now completely dumbfounded, Rachel blurted out.

"Uh… seven, I guess." 

Dick nodded slowly, still brushing her cheek.

"Seven, okay. Bad, but not yet tragic. I've dealt with worse. Do you have everything you need? Pads?"

Rachel curled into herself once again, feeling her face turning red. Thank goodness her curtains were still closed, so maybe he couldn't see how bad she was blushing. How the hell did he know? And how on earth was he so… cool about it?

"Actually… I only have enough for today." she mumbled finally before her silence made things even more awkward.

"Okay, we can fix that, I'm gonna have to take a quick trip to the store…"

Wait, what? He's gonna…

"No, you don't have to!" she quickly answered, panicking again. "I'll go myself once I feel better."

He let out another chuckle, shaking his head.

"Rach, you can't even get out of bed. And if you think I'm letting you out in this weather…"

As if to confirm his words another lightning bolt pierced the sky, brightening up the room, followed immediately by a sound of loud thunder. Rain intensified shortly after, drops banging on the windows. 

Rachel fell back on her pillow, defeated.

"Okay, fine."

The pain came back again, this time in her lower back. It hit so hard she saw black dots in her vision and let out an involuntary yelp, wrapping her arms tighter around herself. 

"Back or stomach?" Dick asked quietly.

"Back." she hissed through gritted teeth and felt his hand sliding down her spine slowly, stopping around a place where it hurt.

"Here?"

She nodded, breathing heavily. Even through the blankets she could feel how gentle his touch was, even when he pressed his hand to her back a little bit harder and slowly started massaging the place. It brought instant relief and she sighed, but it was short lived because he took his hand away too soon.

"You think you're gonna be okay alone for a little longer?" He asked, tilting her chin up a little. "I'll go get everything and will be back soon." Rachel thought it over, then nodded.

"I'll be fine."

He gave her a proud smile in return.

"That's my girl." Getting up from the bed he tucked the blankets tighter around her, then turned towards the door. "Call Gar if you need anything, I'll give him a heads up-"

"No, that won't be necessary…"

"Rach." he said, walking back to the bed with his head tilted to the side. He could read her like an open book. "It's okay, there's nothing to be ashamed of."

She was so puzzled by his behaviour that she couldn't resist asking the next question.

"How do you know so much about… this?"

Dick looked down at her and smiled fondly.

"You're forgetting that I basically grew up with Donna Troy." he answered. "She had taught me everything. Came in handy, especially when we went out on our own and opened this place. I was the one taking care of her everytime it got bad. Learned a thing or two on the way. So it's completely normal for me."

"Even when you're… you know… a guy?"

" _Especially_ 'cause I'm a guy." he laughed softly, winking at her. Somehow it made her feel better about all of this. She was glad she told him. Now she didn't have to deal with this alone.

"Thank you, Dick." she breathed out.

"No problem. Stay in bed, I'll be back soon."

"Okay."

He left, closing the door behind him and Rachel sank back into her pillow, relaxing. Dick's gonna take care of her, so maybe this day won't be as bad as she first thought. 

*******

He was gone for an hour. One, extremely long, excruciating hour. The pain felt constant now, sending shivers throughout her entire body. She didn't know what to do with herself, she couldn't find a position good enough to ease this torture even for a second. She wanted to cry, to weep helplessly in her pillow, but wasn't able to muster enough energy even for that.

Finally, the door to her room opened again and Dick stepped inside.

"I'm back." he announced, setting a bag of items and a steaming mug of strangely smelling tea on her nightstand. "Sorry it took so long. The drive through the city in this storm is a nightmare."

He gave her a faint smile and ran his fingers through his hair, letting the remaining raindrops fall on a fabric of his red t-shirt. But his face twisted with worry the next second when he laid eyes on her tired, pained expression.

"Is it worse?"

"Yeah." Rachel gasped, breathing with difficulty. "I think it went up to eight. The pain isn't going away at all now."

"Oh, honey…" he whispered affectionately, stroking her cheek softly. She closed her eyes at the comforting touch, leaning her face into it. It didn't lessen the pain she was in, but it did make her feel better. "You think you can sit up for a moment? I have something that will hopefully help you."

She glanced briefly at the mug on her nightstand, then propped herself up on her elbow.

"I can try." she replied and moved slowly, careful not to get dizzy again. Dick wrapped his arms around her, steadying her and fixed the blanket around her shoulders. He pulled her to him with one hand, letting her lean on him and reached for the mug with the other. 

"Donna taught me how to brew this tea very early on, it had never failed her." he explained, putting the warm drink in her hand. "It's a mix between cramp bark and ginger, plus some dried amazonian herbs she brought from Themyscira. Thankfully there was still some of it left around here."

Rachel's lips curled into a thin smile before she took a small sip. And regretted it immediately after, because the tea was just awful. She forced herself to swallow the hot liquid then shot Dick an annoyed glance, only to find him looking at her with silent apology in his eyes.

"Dick, this tastes like-"

"Garbage?" he guessed, half smiling. "Yeah, I know. I'm sorry. But it should help. So drink up."

She looked back at the tea in her hands and swallowed back a gag reflex. But then her insides twisted again, reminding her that her cramps weren't gone yet and she sighed helplessly.

"I hate you." she murmured, taking another sip. Dick laughed under his breath, patting her slightly on the back.

"You hate the tea. Believe me, you're gonna thank me later."

He sat with her as she drank, distracting her with a story of how he lost a dare against Donna when he was sixteen and had to drink every cup of that disgusting tea until he learned how to brew it properly. Somehow the idea of this drink tasting even worse made the experience of drinking it more bearable and fifteen minutes later Rachel's mug was empty.

"Ugh, finally." she sighed as Dick gently pushed her back on her pillow and tucked her in. "I feel like I need to wash my mouth with bleach now."

He snorted at her comment, shaking his head in amusement.

"I'm not sure that would work… Have you eaten anything?"

Laying flat on her back she pressed her hands to her stomach and closed her eyes. Unfortunately it had to take some time for the tea to start working so the pain was still there. The feeling of being torn apart from the inside came back and Rachel felt sick again. She was hungry, but she wasn't sure if she'll be able to eat anything in this state.

"No… but I probably should."

"Definitely." Dick agreed with her, giving her a soft, worried look. He brought his hand to her head again and started stroking her hair gently. Rachel squeezed her eyes and groaned again as another horrible cramp decided to torture her. "Try to take deep breath."

"It's not that easy."

"I know." he whispered tenderly, his eyes softening even more. His hand slid down to her face, thumb brushing away a stray tear from her cheek. Her eyelids fluttered open and she looked up, watching as he leaned down to press a kiss to her forehead. A feeling of warmth filled her heart and she smiled despite her discomfort. "I know it's hard. It hurts so much you can't focus on anything else. But just try to breathe, okay? Close your eyes and breathe. Just like that."

He inhaled deeply through his nose, letting his chest slowly rise, then released the air through his mouth, his entire body deflating. Rachel watched him closely, then tried to mimic him. They kept doing it together for a few moments, in complete silence, his hand squeezing hers gently under the blanket with every breath. After some time the pain lessened to a dull throbbing and she sighed, relaxing into her pillow.

"That's my girl." Dick told her with a proud smile lifting the corners of his lips. "Keep doing this, okay? I'm gonna go make you something to eat. Any special wishes?"

"Anything to get the taste of that disgusting tea out of my mouth."

He let out a quiet chuckle and patted her knee with his hand.

"On it."

Rachel stayed still for another ten minutes after he left, but once she was sure dizziness won't come back she sat up slowly, stretching her arms and legs. Her back still ached and she was a little stiff, but it was time to take another trip to the bathroom. 

She was just about to stand up to open the curtains when her attention got caught by the paper bag Dick had left on her nightstand. She reached out, placed it on her lap and peeked inside. It was filled to the brim with all sorts of her favorite snacks, chocolate bars, cookies, soda cans and jelly beans. There was a pack of blueberry scented candles in a dark blue color and small blue teddy bear hidden behind it. Rachel took it out and grinned, holding the toy between her fingers. The plush teddy held a small white heart with words "get well soon" written across it in blue thread and the sight made her chuckle softly and roll her eyes. Who would've thought Dick Grayson is such a sapp? She brushed her thumb over the little heart affectionately and placed the gift next to her nightlight. 

At the bottom of the bag she found some meds, like ibuprofen and other stuff she vaguely remembered her mother using once or twice. Dick must've bought them just in case, if all other methods fail. And, of course, a pack of pads.

Her cheeks turned bright pink again, she could feel the heat on her face. He really went out of his way to get this, all of this, for her, just like that. On one hand it was really awkward for her, they've been through a lot together but they've only known each other for what, like five weeks now? It wasn't really that long. But on the other… They lived together now. He took her in, gave her a home. He made a conscious decision to stay and take care for her, Gar and Jason. 

Guess tending to her when she's on her period is one of his duties now.

Laughing at the ridiculousness of it all Rachel grabbed the pads, opened the curtains, filling the room with dim, grey light of gloomy weather outside and slowly made her way to the bathroom.

*******

"Hey, slow down!" Dick laughed, nudging her with his knee. "You wanna choke on that?"

Rachel knew she was eating a little too fast but these pancakes with chocolate and strawberries he made her were freaking delicious and she didn't realize before how much she actually craved chocolate. And he brought it to her room on a portable table so she wouldn't even have to move out of bed.

"Not my fault you made them so good." she said before putting another strawberry in her mouth. Dick gave her a questioning look and crossed his arms over his chest, raising an eyebrow.

"If this is so good then why you guys keep saying you hate my cooking?"

Rachel stopped immediately with a fork frozen halfway to her mouth, wide eyes staring at him. Shit, he heard them?

"We only hate your _healthy_ cooking." she explained quickly, putting emphasis on the word 'healthy'. "We can barely swallow this so called food, it taste like cardboard."

She let out a heavy sigh, put her utensils away and sat up straighter, looking him dead in the eye.

"We know you're doing your best, with training and teaching and, well, keeping us alive. And we appreciate it. But - like you said yourself many times already - we're just kids. So we don't need a special warrior diet, or whatever that is supposed to be."

Dick stared back at her with that look for another five seconds before his shoulders finally dropped.

"Is it really that bad?"

"Yes." she nodded, eagerly getting back to her pancakes. "I'm not saying we want junk food all the time. We want something that actually tastes like food. Like these absolutely delicious pancakes." she finished with a smile, causing him to grin.

"Okay, fine." he laughed, standing up from where he was sitting on her bed. "No more cardboard food, I promise."

"Besides…" she started again once she was done eating, dragging the syllables playfully. "If you were really that behind healthy eating, you wouldn't be letting me eat all my snacks." 

He turned away from the window to look at her and she grinned, pointing her eyes at the paper bag.

"Thanks for this, by the way."

Dick blinked, eyes flicking between the bag and her face, then his lips curved into a smile.

"Okay, you got me there. And no problem, anything to make you feel better."

"Even this?" she teased, reaching for that blue teddy bear and hugging it to her chest. His smile turned into a full blown grin at the sight.

"Even this. Got it extra with the candles."

"Yeah, right."

Dick kept looking at her for few more seconds, his expression turning into something she couldn't quite read. He seemed lost in thought for a moment, before letting out a quiet chuckle and shaking his head.

"How are you feeling now?" he asked, changing the topic. Rachel scrunched her eyebrows, trying to focus.

"A little better. It still hurts, but I'm able to ignore it now. I think that tea helped."

"Not to say 'I told you so' but…"

She threw a pillow at him, but he swiftly caught it, laughing.

"So on the pain scale it would be…"

"Six." she finished for him. "But my mood went from zero to five so that's progress."

He threw the pillow back at her, then moved to her nightstand, took out the candles and lit them up with a lighter he pulled out from his pocket. A faint scent of blueberries instantly filled the space.

"Only five? No, we need to fix that."

He went over to her desk where a small remote was thrown in between some books. With one press of a button a panel opened in the ceiling and a flat screen TV slowly rode down, illuminating the room with soft blue light. 

Dick rounded her bed and dropped on the covers next to her, leaning against the headboard.

"So, what are we watching? You pick."

All she could do was stare at him, dumbfounded, while he gave her that stupid grin again, eyes shining with almost childish excitement. 

"Wait - you're staying?" she blurted out finally. "You don't have to, you know? I'm sure you're-"

"What? Busy?" he cut in. "I told Gar and Jason they have a day off, they're playing video games in the living room as we speak. I'm all yours for the day."

Her chest filled with unexpected warmth and she smiled brightly, feeling a little emotional. Sometimes she couldn't wrap her head around it. What was so special about her that had him basically wrapped around her little finger? What had she done to make him care so much? She never had anyone who would go to such lengths for her. And she was grateful that of all people she found that someone in him.

Shaking herself out of these thoughts Rachel reached for the paper bag and tossed it on the bed between them. Various snacks fell out on the blanket.

"Okay, but if we're watching something, we might run out of that pretty quickly."

His laugh filled the air between them and it hit her suddenly that she had heard him laughing, genuinely laughing, more times in these past two weeks than ever before. This place, this new role he had taken on, it took some of this invisible weight off of his shoulders. He was more relaxed and open now, slowly uncovering parts of himself that were deeply hidden before - like his beautiful laugh. Rachel liked that change, a lot.

"We'll figure something out for dinner later. Now go ahead, pick a movie!"

They ended up watching some ridiculous horror comedy on Netflix about an office building where workers turned into zombies after drinking an energy drink and Rachel picked it only because she noticed the main protagonist looked a lot like Dick (which he fiercely denied, but agreed to watch it anyway). So now they were huddled on her bed, in a mountain of pillows, fighting over snacks and laughing till they couldn't breathe. She had forgotten about her pain all together, being lost in the happiness of here and now.

Until a new wave of cramps hit her lower abdomen unexpectedly sometime towards the end of the movie, ripping her insides apart all over again.

"Ow… please, not again." she groaned, pressing her hands to her stomach, her face twisted in pain. Dick quickly paused the movie and caught her just as she collapsed against him, resting her forehead against his shoulder, eyes squeezed shut. His arms instantly went around her, pulling her closer to him as he leaned back against the headboard and guided her to lay down on his chest.

"How bad?" he asked quietly, his hand coming up to cradle her head. His fingers slipped into her hair, stroking it gently in a slow, soothing motion. 

"I think it went back up to eight." She gasped, feeling her throat tightening. It hurt so much she felt herself starting to shake. "Maybe a little over that."

He sighed deeply and squeezed her tighter, to which Rachel reacted by curling herself into him even more and burying her face deeper into his chest. She grabbed a fistfull of his shirt and tried breathing deeply again, but it didn't seem to help much this time. She felt Dick pressing his lips to her forehead for a moment, mumbling something about getting a new idea, before pulling his phone out of his pocket.

"Gar?" she heard him say. "Listen, there's a heating pad in the living room, in one of the drawers. Find it and bring it to Rachel's room… Yeah, she got sick again… Okay, just hurry." He ended the call and his hand came back to her waist, pulling her to him again. 

"Don't worry, Rach." he whispered into her hair, giving her another kiss. His voice vibrated with worry. "It will be over soon."

"I'm sorry." she breathed out, swallowing back tears. The pain was playing tricks with her mind, pushing through with unwelcome thoughts. "I'm just a burden to you… That's all I ever was."

"No, don't say that." he replied quickly, gripping her tighter. "You could never be a burden, Rachel, when all I want to do is care for you."

She lifted her head and their eyes met. He was looking at her so intensely she almost shied away. Like he was trying to solidify his words with his gaze.

Letting out a small sniffle, she asked.

"Really?"

"Really." he nodded and lifted his hand to brush away her tears. "I told you I'd never leave you, right? And I meant every word. I'm here to stay, through it all - period cramps, tears and snot, mood swings, fevers - everything. I am not going anywhere, Rachel."

She felt a lump rising in her throat again and tears welling up in her eyes, but this time it wasn't the pain that caused it. The honesty and certainty behind his words, how true and sincere he sounded, it filled her heart to the brim with overwhelming love and gratitude. It was so full it could burst out of her chest any moment now.

She stared at him with tears in her eyes, about to say something when they both heard a knock on the door. Gar's green haired head peeked inside a second later.

"Hey guys!" he greeted them, trying to sound cheery but ending up… not so much. Rachel would chuckle if she wasn't so goddamn tired right now. Gar stepped further into the room. "Got the heating pad… At least I think that's what it is." 

He lifted a strange device in his hand - a flat white pillow on a wire, with a control remote attached to it. 

"Yeah, that's it." Dick confirmed, already reaching out for it. "Plug it in close to the bed."

The boy did as he was told, then stood by the bed a little bit awkwardly as Dick pulled the covers away, revealing Rachel's trembling body curled up in a fetus position, half laying on top of him. She instantly felt cold and bare, even though she had her most comfortable t-shirt and sweatpants on. He toyed with the remote for a short while, then wrapped the pillow around her stomach and moved one of her hands so she could hold it in place.

"Here you go."

In the meantime Gar tried to fill in the silence.

"Uh… How are you feeling, Rach?"

"Like shit, honestly." came a short reply. "What are you guys doing?"

"Uh, nothing really." he said. "Jason is beating my ass in Battlefront II. Hey, Dick - since you're clearly stuck here for the day, do you think we could order takeout for dinner? The weather is clearing out so it shouldn't take long to deliver."

"Sure, order whatever you want." the man told him with a grin. "Anything specific, Rach?"

"I'm good with whatever they choose today." she sighed, closing her eyes. The warmth of the heating pad started spreading across her body, bringing some relief, letting her relax a little bit more.

"Alright." Gar said, smiling. He reached out to Rachel and patted her shoulder. "You'll get better soon, you'll see."

Corners of her lips lifted in a thin smile at his awkward but heartfelt attempt to cheer her up and she put her hand over his, squeezing briefly. 

"Thanks Gar. And you get yourself together and destroy him! You're the game pro in this house, remember?"

He let out a laugh and playfully saluted her.

"Right on it! See you guys later!"

He left with a grin on his face and once the door were closed behind him, Rachel's head fell back on Dick's chest, her body sinking deeper into his embrace. 

"Better now?"

"A little." she replied, her voice muffled by his t-shirt. "Still hurts, though."

"It's gonna be okay soon." he said, rubbing her shoulder. "Listen, I have some meds here… If you feel like you need something stronger…"

"No, not yet at least." she interrupted him, looking up. "My… my mom only gave me meds for the night if it was bad, so I could sleep. So I'm gonna wait a little longer before I take anything, okay?"

"Okay." he agreed. "Now cuddle up and try to relax, alright? We're gonna finish that movie and find something else to watch." 

"Mhmm."

His arms pulled her up a little closer and she tucked her head under his chin, arms circling around his torso. Rachel tried to put her attention back on the movie, but found herself spacing out, lost in the quiet beating of his heart under her ear and comforting touch of his hands on her back and waist. She smiled when he dropped another kiss to her hair - he kept doing that a lot recently and at first these sudden outbreaks of physical affection surprised her but now she found herself longing for them more and more. So she snuggled to him even more, nuzzling her face to his neck like a kitten and giggled when she felt a shadow of stubble on his chin brush the skin on her forehead.

"When was the last time you shaved?" she mumbled out a question.

"Uh… yesterday morning. Why?"

"You're scratchy."

Now he was the one laughing, his whole chest vibrating under her cheek.

"What, you don't like it?"

Rachel lifted her head a little to give him a mockingly critical eye.

"Hmm… no, not really."

He brushed his cheek on her forehead again, this time to mess with her and she let out another giggle.

"Good to know, then. You know, I was actually thinking about growing out a moustache-"

"Don't you dare! That'd be ridiculous!"

"How do you know? You've never seen me like that."

"I have a very vivid imagination and I'm telling you Dick - don't do it."

"Okay, fine."

They looked at each other in silence for few more seconds before bursting into a fit of laughter. In the meantime the movie ended and now the end credits were rolling on the screen. Dick grabbed the remote and switched the screen back to main menu.

"So what now? Any suggestions?"

"You know what - you pick this time." she told him, propping herself on her elbow. "I feel better now so I'm gonna jump to the bathroom real quick."

***

To her biggest surprise Dick had picked a freaking _musical_. She was expecting an action movie or some kind of mystery thing, so when she saw _The Greatest Showman_ on the screen, her jaw almost hit the floor.

"What?" he asked innocently when she raised an eyebrow at him in confusion. "I've always loved musicals, just never been vocal about it."

But it all started to make perfect sense when she remembered this movie was circus themed - and her heart filled with a sense of nostalgia. She climbed back to bed and settled into his arms again as he pulled the covers over them both and she got lost in the opening number. But her mind kept flashing back to her old dream - that horrible nightmare where she had to watch Dick's parents fall to their deaths, over and over again. He must've been thinking about this memory too, considering how he squeezed her a bit tighter every time a trapeze artist showed up on the screen. For him it was a painful memory, for her a repetitive nightmare that for a long time didn't seem real. But it turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because would she even be here if she hadn't started having it? Would she ever have the chance to meet the boy from the circus without it? 

Guess she'll never know.

The circus troop in the movie consisted of people who were deemed different - unaccepted by society, misunderstood, unfitting. She could relate to that - even before her powers first manifested she didn't seem to fit in anywhere, not at school, not in her neighborhood, sometimes not even at home. Maybe, in another life, she would've ended up in a circus just like this one. Maybe, if things happened differently, she would've ended up with The Flying Graysons anyway. 

"What do you think your parents would think about me?" she asked suddenly, not able to stop the question from coming. She froze immediately after, so did Dick, but he relaxed right away, paused the movie to focus his entire attention on her and ran his hand slowly across her back as he spoke.

"They would've adored you, I'm sure of it." 

Rachel looked up at him and found him staring at her with warm eyes and a soft smile pulling at his lips. "They would've admired your strength and will to fight. Your good heart and free spirit."

"And what about my powers?"

"They would've accepted them in a heartbeat." he answered without hesitation, brushing his fingers across her cheek. "They would've been ready to learn as much as they can and help you with them, no matter what."

She contemplated it for a moment, then asked.

"How can you know that for sure?"

His smile grew as he pressed his palm to her face, making her lean into it.

"Because I'm their son and this is exactly how _I_ feel about you."

She felt her eyes watering again, so she only send him a shy but grateful smile and hid her face back under his chin so he couldn't see her tears. She was willing to put the fault on her mood swings caused by her period, but deep in her heart she knew it wasn't true.

"Thank you for today." she muttered instead while Dick unpaused the movie. "I'm sure there's lot more interesting stuff you could be doing right now, I really appreciate that you decided to stay and keep me company."

"Are you kidding?" he laughed, pulling her closer to his chest. "This is honestly the best day I've had in a long while. And I am really enjoying this… cuddle session."

Rachel chuckled quietly and squeezed him tighter, nuzzling her face against his neck.

"Yeah, the cuddles are the best part of it."

Dropping another kiss to her forehead, he mumbled.

"Definitely. If you ever want to repeat that, just say a word and I'm all yours."

"Noted."

Oh, she definitely wanted to repeat that, a lot actually. Because being in Dick's arms felt… safe. It was like a sanctuary she could always escape to, knowing she'll be protected here and no harm will ever reach her. She could hide in his hold, let his strong arms fight away her fears and nightmares and make her forget about the world around her. She felt at peace inside his embrace, cared for, guarded and… loved. She felt like she finally made it home after being lost for so long. 

***

Her cramps came and went through the rest of the day, with different levels of intensity, hitting her unexpectedly but lasting for only a short amount of time. Whenever that happened Dick paused whatever they were watching at the moment and simply held her in silence, stroking her head and helping her breathe through the pain until it was gone. Sometimes she would use the heating pad again, but most times simple breathing exercise was enough. 

"Shh, I'm right here, honey." he kept whispering to her ear during one particularly painful attack when she curled into him, shaking, her tears soaking the collar of his t-shirt. "You're gonna be okay."

"Don't let go."

"I won't." he promised, pressing his lips to her forehead. "I'm not letting go."

He was dead set on feeding her with ibuprofen after that but the attack went as quickly as it came, only leaving her a little tired and sleepy, and she refused. So after eating pizza Gar had brought them for dinner Dick suggested it would be good for her to take a nap. She was just about to get up actually, feeling well enough to get out her room for a while. She tried to use cleaning up after dinner as an excuse but Dick stopped her right away.

"Nah-ah, lay back down, young lady."

"But- But I'm okay now!"

"I don't care." he replied sternly but couldn't hide an amused smirk pulling at his lips. He was enjoying it a bit too much in her opinion. "I'm not letting you get up until I know that you're hundred percent better again."

He picked up the plates from her and fixed her another stare.

"Lay down, please. I'll take this to the kitchen, check on the boys and I'll be right back, okay?"

Knowing she won't win this time Rachel huffed out a long sigh, letting her shoulders drop in defeat. 

"Fine."

"Good girl."

She threw him a glare while slipping back under the covers, to which he only laughed cheerfully, shaking his head, then left to the kitchen.

The bed felt weirdly empty without him here and even though she did feel tired, she couldn't find a place for herself. When Dick came back fifteen minutes later he found her propped on pillows, leaning against the headboard, flipping through Netflix recommendations with a frustrated pout on her lips. 

Dick laughed again at the sight.

"You know, even with your hair a mess and that grumpy frown of yours-" he started, getting back into bed. "You never looked lovelier."

"Is that your attempt to make me feel better about being stuck in bed all day? 'Cause it's not working."

"I mean it!" he swore, nudging her with his foot. "You're cute even when you're sick. Adorable, actually."

Rachel snorted and elbowed him in the arm.

"Shut up."

"Oh c'mon, don't be like that. At least you're stuck here with me."

She locked eyes with him and they smiled at each other. Yeah, if there was one good thing about this whole situation, it was definitely this.

"True." she nodded. "That is a plus."

"So stop pouting and come here."

Rachel happily took the invitation and fell back into his open arms, cuddling herself close to his chest. Dick put on another movie and she really tried to pay attention to it, but with his arms around her and his heart beating in her ear, she found herself dozing off from time to time. 

They stayed like this until the day turned into night. They caught a glimpse of sun before it turned dark, the heavy clouds finally clearing out, but soon first stars started to appear between tall skyscrapers. Around nine Rachel decided it was time to get ready to sleep and take a shower, so she grabbed her pajamas and excused herself to the bathroom. When she came back Dick was gone and she figured he probably retreated to his own bedroom for the night. It was still early, but even after spending this entire day in bed, she still felt tired. At least her cramps were gone for couple of hours now and she didn't think they would come back for the night. 

She closed the curtains, blew out the candles and with a click of a remote put the TV back in its place in the ceiling. She climbed back to bed, laid down on her side and pulled the covers up to her chin. Her eyelids were heavy with sleep already and she figured it won't take long for her to fall asleep. Her eyes fell on the teddy bear sitting next to her nightlight and she smiled. This day turned completely different than she expected in the morning, but she was glad. It was the best day she had in a very long time, even when she had to suffer through it from time to time.

She was almost asleep when the door to her room opened again with a quiet creak. She heard padding of barefoot steps and then her mattress dipped on the other side under familiar weight. And suddenly she was enveloped by two strong arms again, pulling her close, her back pressed to a muscular, bare chest. She smelled the scent of toothpaste, shower gell and aftershave when Dick pressed a kiss to the back of her head and buried his face in her hair. 

"How are you feeling now?" he asked quietly, squeezing her tighter.

"Good. Really good." she breathed out.

"And the cramps? From one to ten…?"

"I would say two."

"So no meds?"

"No meds. I'll be fine in the morning."

"Okay."

They stayed like this for a couple minutes, in silence and Rachel was almost dozing off again when she felt Dick smiling against her shoulder.

"And your mood? Still five?"

She smirked and rolled over so she could face him. His arms never left her, not once letting her escape his hold.

"No." she shook her head, looking up into his eyes. "Now it's over eleven."

His smile grew and he lifted his hand to tuck a lock of hair behind her ear.

"That's great." he leaned in and kissed her forehead lovingly, causing her to close her eyes and sink deeper into him. There was nothing better in the world than that. "Get some sleep now."

She nodded wordlessly and let him pull her closer, resting her head on his chest. His heartbeat almost instantly lulled her to sleep and she yawned, burying her face under his chin. She smiled - it wasn't scratchy anymore.

"Goodnight, Dick." she mumbled, already falling asleep. But she still heard his quiet whisper when he squeezed her tighter, nuzzling his nose against her head.

"Goodnight, sweetheart."

***

**Author's Note:**

> Have you caught a reference to one of Brenton's movies? I absolutely love Office Uprising, it's the most ridiculous movie I've ever watched but I adore it.  
> And I used The Greatest Showman because... Well, the reasons are obvious in the fic, but also because in the most recent interview Brenton said he would love to do a full blown musical, like La La Land, with big numbers and all of that. So it kinda came from there.  
> Everything Rachel is going through is based on my own personal experience (but she got more luck, I didn't have a cuddle buddy).  
> All the remedies I found in online articles. Only personally tried the heating pad.  
> Kudos and comments as always appreciated. Hit me up on my Tumblr - @not-so-mundane-after-all-97 and make sure to check out my other stuff if you liked this one and want more.  
> See you soon!


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